A comparative study of the visual outcomes between a new trifocal and an extended depth of focus intraocular lens

To evaluate and compare the visual outcomes and ocular optical performance of the PanOptix trifocal intraocular lens (IOL) and Symfony extended range of vision IOL.

Sixty-eight eyes of 34 patients were divided into 2 groups: 20 patients with the PanOptix IOL and 14 patients with the Symfony IOL. Binocular uncorrected distance visual acuity, best-corrected distance visual acuity (BCDVA), distance-corrected intermediate visual acuity (DCIVA) at 80 and 60 cm, and distance-corrected near visual acuity (DCNVA) at 40 cm were evaluated. Additionally, preferred reading distance with best-corrected distance and visual acuity at that distance, binocular defocus curves, mesopic and photopic contrast sensitivity, photic phenomena, and monocular total higher order aberrations (HOAs) were also measured.

The visual outcomes for PanOptix and Symfony IOL groups, respectively, were as follows: BCDVA: -0.03 ± 0.03 and -0.02 ± 0.03 logMAR; DCIVA at 80 cm: 0.06 ± 0.06 and 0.06 ± 0.04 logMAR; DCIVA at 60 cm: 0.06 ± 0.10 and 0.05 ± 0.04 logMAR; DCNVA: 0.04 ± 0.06 and 0.20 ± 0.07 logMAR (p<0.001). Similar preferred reading distances were found for both groups (37.0 ± 4.6 and 38.9 ± 5.7 cm, respectively). The visual acuities at those distances were 0.09 ± 0.08 and 0.19 ± 0.08 logMAR (p<0.001), respectively. The defocus curves showed significantly better outcomes for the PanOptix IOL from -2.0 to -4.0 D (p<0.001). No significant differences were found for contrast sensitivity, halometry, or HOAs between the groups.

The PanOptix and Symfony IOLs showed comparable visual performance at distance and intermediate. However, the PanOptix IOL provided better near and preferred reading distance VAs and showed a more continuous range of vision than the Symfony IOL.